Feed-water heater



23", ""I93L .1. H. SEBALD 1,785,983

FEED WATER HEATER Filed April l, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l 359% l. l 5e 55 AT ORNEY Dec. 23, 1930. 1 H. SEBALD 1,785,983

FEED yWATER HEATER Filed April 1, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JH. Seehaul.

/N VENTOR A TTORNEY boiling system Patented Dec. 23, 1930 UNITED STATES PAT-ENT OFFICE JOSEPH H. SEBALD, ARLINGTON,

AND MACHINERY CORPORATION, NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA FEED-WATER HEATER Application led April 1, 1929. Serial No. 351,676.

This invention relates to feed water heaters of the open or contact type, and the primary object of the invention is to provide an apparatus particularly adaptable for heat-y ing and daerating water for industrial purposes, but applicable to the treatment of other liquids, which is simple in construction, will require a relativley small amount of ioo'r space in installation', and one which will effect a relatively high heat transfer and deaeration or-degasilication of the liquid.

It is a well known fact that the air contained in water and steam causes corrosion of boiler tubes, valves, pipes, fittings, etc., and the present invention embodies a deaerating feed water heater operating on the counter current principle, which will materially reduce such corrosion by degasifying or deaerating feed water rior to its delivery to the boiler. 1

The primary object of feed water heating is the savin of fuel, and, therefore, it is desirable to o tain the greatest possible heat transfer from the exhaust steam utilized in the heater and to deliver the feed water to the boiler at as near the temperature of the exhaust steam as possible. The efliciency and practicability of the heater is gauged by the proportion of heat transfer and the degree of deaeration or degasication maintained within the heater during the condensation of the exhaust steam and the heating of the feed water.

Both closed or surface and open or uidcontact types of feed water heaters have been in use for many years, and perhaps the most efficient and successful heaters of approved construction at the present time are open or contact heaters in which the incoming feed water and exhaust steam contact one with the other to eEect condensation of the steam and heating of the feed water, and heaters of this type, embodying deaeration or degasification, utilize to a large'extent the for the removal of air.

In deaerating heaters of the boiling system type, the feed water is heated to a degree: above the saturation temperature corresponding to the pressure in the heating chamber to which` the water is admitted, and the mixed heated water and condensate is then passed to a Hash or ebullition chamber in which the pressure is lower than in the primary heating chamber. The heated water entering the ebullition or low pressure chamber under pressure in excess of the pressure therein, a sudden boiling is set up, causing evaporation of a part of the water and the release of the entrained gases, as well as the cooling of the water back to the saturation temperature of the pressure in the chamber.

The non-condensable any suitable ai r or gas evacuating means.

These types of feed water heaters are built up on the vtheory that sudden ebullition is better for the removal of entrained gases than gradual boiling, and, while they are successful in operation, they entail relatively complicated and expensive constructions.

Also, the counter current principle of feed water heating, that is, the passing of the steam and water in different Vdirections through the heater, has been previously employed; see, for example, Patent No. 651,100, issued to W. Webster on June 5th, 1900. However, in such heaters, the water is spilled through the heater in sheets and the steam is directed into the heater at substantially right angles to the direction of flow of the water, resulting in a relatively low degree of heat transfer and deaeration.

The present invention comprises a feed water heater of the simplicity of construction of the counter current type, embodying equal if not greater efficiency in heat transfer and 'deaeration proved heaters of ebullition type.

More specifically, the present invention comprises a feed water heater in which the water is passed through the heating chamber in a multitude of series of drops or very small streams, which are subjected to the heating action of the steam entering the heating chamber in a plurality of paths, both transversely of and opposite to the direction of travel of the water, resulting in the heatf ing of the water to the degree in proportion to the pressure within the heating chamber, the release of any dissolved or entrained gases are taken ofi' by the boiling or sudden NEWAJ'ERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 WORTHINGTON PUMP than that obtained by apgases in the water, and the carrying and forcing of such released gases to the end of the heater towards which the steam travels where they are allowed to escape or may be drained off, by any suitable air or gas evacuating apparatus.

With these and other objects in view, as may appear from the accompanying specification, the invention consists in various features of construction and combination of parts, which will be first described in connection with the accompanying drawings, showing a feed water heater of the preferred form embodying the invention, and the features forming the invention will be specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the improved feed water heater.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on a slightly reduced scale, through the heater and taken at right angles to the section shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section through the heater taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the pans employed in the heater construction.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the improved feed water heater comprises a casing 1, which has substantially two sections, namely the upper heating section 2 and the lower filtering section 3. After it has been heated and deaerated, the feed water passes into the filtering section 3, which may be of any approved construction, and it is drawn from this filtering section 3 for transmission to the boiler or other apparatus or system in which it is to be employed.

The present invention relates substantially to the heating and deaerating section 2 of the feed water heater 1, and, in this section, the cold water to be heated enters the feed water heater through a suitable supply pipe 4 and passes, first into the receiving pans from which it is spilled over the down-turned sides 6 of the pans 5 into the first tier 7 of the water pans 8.

The water pans 8 are arranged in a series of tiers one above the other, in the heating section 2 of the feed water heater, and the pans in the adjacent tiers are positioned staggeredly with respect to each other so that the water being spilled over the down-turned sides 9 of the various pans 8 will be spilled into a pan 8 in the tier directly therebeneath.

The down-turned sides 6 'of the pans 5 and the down-turned sides 9 of the pans 8 have their lower edges serrated, as shown at 10, to provide a plurality of irregular or interrupted edges over which the water will flow. The water overfiowing from the pans 8 over the rounded junction 1l, of the pans with their sides, will first leave the pans in thin sheets and these sheets will be broken up into a multitude of series of drops or relatively fine streams by the serrated edges 10, causing the water to travel in interrupted stages and in thin streams or drops through the heating action 2 of the heater 1, and consequently exposing greater surfaces of the water for contact with the incoming steam. There being fewer pans in certain of the vertical tiers of pans than in others, guide plates 8 are provided which are carried by the pan supporting structure 8a and incline downwardly and inwardly so as to guide the streams of water passing over the outer edges of the outermost tier of pans directly thereabove, inwardly so that it will fall into the outermost pans in the tier directly therebelow. The pans 8 have supporting flanges 9 on their ends, which rest upon the supporting flanges or shoulders 8a.

, The exhaust steam or other steam utilized for heating the water, which water also serves to condense the steam, enters the casing 1 of the feed water heater through the steam inlet pipe 12. Upon entering the feed water heater casing 1 the steam first is engaged in the oil separator chamber 13, and, engaging against the wall or baie 14, which is positioned directly inward from the steam inlet 15 of the heater casing, it will be guided transversely to its initial direction of flow and through the oil separators 16, which will separate out any oil which might be contained in the steam. The steam, issuing from the guiding and separating chamber 13, will pass into the spaces 17 at each side of the contact compartment 18 in which the tiers of pans 8 are positioned. rllhe contact compartment 18 is formed by the baffle or wall 14 and the walls or plates 19. The steam is prevented from passing upwardly out 0f the spaces 13 and 17 bythe transverse partitions 20 and 21 in the heater, so that it passes downwardly in the spaces 17, being released from the spaces 17 for passage into the contact compartment 18 by the plurality of vertically spaced apenings 22 in the partitions 19 and by the open lower ends 23 of the spaces 17. The openings 22 are in area relatively smaller than the lower open ends 23 of the spaces 17, so that a proper proportion of the steam will pass through the lower open ends 23 into the interior of the casing 1 below the lowermost tier of pans 8, where it will, owing to the pressure of the steam, rise and pass upwardly through the contact compartment 18, passing in a direction opposite to the direction of flow of the water travelling downwardly through the contact compartment 18 in the interrupted series of drops or small streams. The steam entering the contact compartment 18 through the openings 22, will first `enter the compartment in directions transversely to the direction of travel of the water through the compartment, so that the small streams or drops of water will be subjected to both opposite and transverse How of steam, vresulting in the heating of these small streams or drops of water to the temperature proportionate with the pressure within the heater, to cause release of entrained or dissolved air or gases in the water and also resulting in condensation of the steam. The mingled degasified water and condensate passes from the lowermost tier of pans or trays 8 throughl the space 30 in the casing l into the filtering section 3, from which it is taken forl delivery to the boiler or other apparatus with which it is to be used.

Owing to the breaking up of the water falling through the heating compartment 2 in small streams or series of drops, the steam, passing through the compartment 2 in a direction opposite or counter to the direction of travel of the water, will be permitted to flow in continuous sinuous streams, as indicated by the flow lines A in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The steam, the supply of which is augmented at predetermined points by means of the openings 22 to compensate partly for condensation and to maintain the counter :How of the steam, will, as it travels through the compartment, pick up entrained or released air or gas and carry it upward towards the top of the heater to the space 31. The air or gas is allowed to escape from the space 3l through the vent 33, or may be drawn off through the opening 32 by any suitable type of evacuating apparatus (not shown).

ny steam which reaches the space 31 will be condensed therein by the incoming water to be heated and only a very small amount, if any,

will escape or be drawn from the space 31.

The amount of water to be heated delivered to the pans 6 is regulated by the float 34 positioned within the space 30 and connected through suitable mechanism 35 with the -valve 36, which'is positioned in the cold water supply pipe 4.

v The drain pipe 37 is positioned beneath the oil separators 16 and guides any oil which passes downwardly over these separators through the opening 38 into the walled pockets 39, from which it passes into a suitable trap 40. The walled space 39 is open at its top and serves as an overflow dam for the heater, so as to permit excess water to flow therefrom and prevent flooding of the heater. The casing 1 also has a door 41 hinged thereto to permit access to the interior of the heating section 2 of the heater if necessary, and it will be noted by particular reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings that the partitions 19 extend beyond the shoulders or flanges 42 on the casing l so as to prevent the steam 'from passing from the spaces 17 into the open side of the contact compartment 18, through which access is gained to the heating space 2 by the door 41.

In Fig. 2 of the drawings, a relatively short length of water inlet pipe 43 is illustrated, but this short length of pipe is provided merely for the purpose of convenience in case the water supply is located so as to' render lit inconvenient to connect the pipe with the side of the heater, as shown in Fig. 2

From the foregoing connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that a feed water heater has been provided which will expose the maX- imum surface of the incoming water to contact with the steam, resulting, lirst, in a very high degree of heat transfer within the heater, and, second, in the release of entrained or degasifled gases from the water, and, that the heater is of relatively simple construction and may be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

Itiwill be understood that the invention is` not toghe limited to the specific construction or arrangement of parts shown but that these may be modified widely within the invention defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a feed water heater, a casing, a plurality of'pans arranged in tiers within the casing and having the pans in each row placed staggeredly with respect to the pans in adjacent rows, said pans having their sides down-turned and serrated along their edges whereby the water will flow through the casing in a plurality of small interrupted streams, said casing having a steam inlet remote from and opposed to the water inlet whereby steam will flow in continuous sinuous streams through the casing counter to the water low therethrough, and means for permitting augmenting of the quantity of steam at spaced points during its travel through the casing.

2. In a feed water heater, a casing, partitions therein forming a contact compartment, a plurality of pans arranged in tiers within said contact compartment, the pans in each row being placed staggeredly with respect to the pans in adjacent rows, said pans having their sides down-turned and serrated along their free edges whereby the water will How through the contact chamber in a plurality of small interrupted streams, said casing having a steam inlet, said partitions serving to guide the steam iiow in the casing in such manner that steam will enter and flow in the contact compartment in a direction opposite to the direction of water flow.

3. ln a feed water heater, tions therein forming a contact compartment, a plurality of pans arranged in tiers within said contact compartment, the pans in each row being placed staggeredly with respect to the pans in adjacent rows, said pans having their sides down-turned and serrated along their free edges whereby the water will flow through the Contact chamber in a plurality of small interrupted streams, said casing having a steam inlet, said partitions serving to guide description, taken in a casing, parti- Y.

the steam flow in the casing in such manner that steam will enter and flow in the contact compartment in a direction opposite to the direction of water flow, said partitions also provided with openings at predetermined points for permitting the entrance of a part of the steam into the compartment to augment the quantity of steam in the compartment.

et. In a feed water heater, a casing, partitions therein forming a contact compartment, a plurality of pans arranged in tiers within said contact compartment, the pans in each row being placed staggeredly with respect to the pans in adjacent rows, said pans having their sides down-turned and serrated along their free edges whereby the water will How through the Contact chamber in a plurality of small interrupted streams, said easing having a steam inlet, said partitions serving to guide the steam flow in the casing in such manner that steam will enter and flow in the contact compartment in a direction opposite to the direction of water flow, and means controlled by water level in the casing for regulating the quantity of water admitted to said pans.

5. In a feed water heater, a casing, partitions therein forming a contact compartment, a plurality of pans arranged in tiers within said contact compartment, the pans in each row being placed staggeredly with respect to the pans in adjacent rows, said pans having their sides down-turned and serrated along their free edges whereby the water will flow through the contact chamber in a plurality of small interrupted streams, said casing having a steam inlet, said partitions serving to guide the steam iow in the casing in such manner that steam will enter and flow in the contact compartment in a direction opposite to the direction of water flow, said partitions also provided with openings at predetermined points for permitting the entrance of a part of the steam into the compartment, and an oil separator within said casing positioned to receive the steam prior to its entrance into the contact compartment.

6. In a feed water heater, a casing, partitions therein forming a contact compartment, said casing having a water inlet at one end of said compartment, a plurality of pans arranged in tiers within said compartment, the pans in each row being placed staggeredly with respect to the pans in adjacent rows, said pans having their sides down-turned and serrated whereby the water will flow in a plurality of small interrupted streams, said casing having a steam inlet, said partitions forming steam guiding spaces about said contact compartment having communication with the end of the compartment remote from the water inlet whereby steam will enter and travel within said compartment in a direction counter to the water flow in the compartment.

7. In a feed water heater, a casing, partitions therein forming a contact compartment, said casing having a water inlet at one end of said compartment, a plurality of pans arranged in tiers within said compartment, the pans in each row being placed staggeredly with respect to the pans in the adjacent rows.` said pans having their sides down-turned and serrated whereby the water will llow in a plurality of small interrupted streams, said casing having a steam inlet, said partitions forming steam guiding spaces about said contact compartment having communication with the end of the compartment remote from the water inlet whereby steam will enter and travel within said compartment in a direction counter to the water liow in the compartment, said casing provided with an outlet for released gases at a point in proximity to the water entrance end of said compartment.

8. In a feed water heater, a casing, partitions therein forming a contact compartment, said casing having a water inlet at one end of said compartment, a plurality of pans arranged in tiers within said compartment, the pans in each row being placed staggeredly with respect to the pans in adjacent rows, said pans having their sides down-turned and serrated whereby the water will flow in a plurality of small interrupted streams, said casing having a steam inlet, said partitions forming steam guiding spaces about said contact compartment having coinmunication with the endof the compartment remote from the water inlet whereby steam will enter and travel within said compartment in a direction opposite to the water iow in the compartment, and an oil separator within said casing in proximity to the steam inlet whereby the steam will pass through the oil separator prior to its entrance into said contact compartment.

9. In a feed water heater, a casing, partitions therein forming a contact compartment, said casing having a water inlet at one end of said compartment, a plurality of pans arranged in tiers within said compartment, the pans in each row being placed staggeredly with respect to the pans in adjacent rows, said pans having their sides down-turned and serrated whereby the water will flow in a plurality of small interrupted streams, said casing having a steam inlet, said partitions forming steam guiding spaces about said contact compartment having vom munication with the end of the compartment remote from the water inlet whereby steam will enter and travel within said compartment in a direction opposite to the water flow in the compartment, said casing provided with an outlet for released gases at a point in proximity to the water entrance end of said compartment, said partitions provided with openings adjacent to the steam inlet end of said Contact compartment for permitting steam to iiow into the compartment in a direction transversely of the water flow therein.

10. In a feedwater heater, a casing having a steam inlet, partitions in said casing -5 forming a contact compartment and steam spaces at the sides of the contact compartment, said compartment having a water inlet at its upper end, a plurality of pans arranged in tiers within the compartment, the pans in each tier being laterally spaced and disposed staggeredly with respect to the pans in 'the tier next thereto, therehyproviding vertically extending sinuous paths between the pans and through said compartment, said steam spaces open at their lower ends to permit steam to enter the contact compartment at its lower end and pass through the compartment in sinuous vertically traveling streams, said partitions provided with openings upwardly of their lower ends to admit a limited quantity of steam into the contact compartment upwardly `of its lower end.

' In testimony whereof I aiix msignature.

25 JOSEPH H. S BALD. 

